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How Old Should A Puppy Be Before Adopting?


Rebecca_S
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There is no law directly relating to the age pups can be sold in any state.

Responsible breeders do not rehome pups before the age of 8 weeks.. sometimes longer in the case of smaller breeds.

The reasons for that relate to the welfare and development of the pups. Any younger and they have no immunity from their first vaccination and they also learn important lessons from their siblings between weaning and rehoming.

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Responsible breeders do not rehome pups before the age of 8 weeks.. sometimes longer in the case of smaller breeds.

Yup, also can be longer if the pup is flying to their new home.

No ANKC registered breeder is allowed* to let any puppy leave their care prior to 8 weeks of age and any such breeder should be reported to their state body.

* Each ANKC registered breeder (the only people who can sell puppies with valid ANKC pedigree papers) agress to a Code of Ethics which they must abide by and which includes the regulation about age to go home.

Edited by molasseslass
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Sorry poodlefan but I was under the impression 6 weeks was the youngest age a dog could be sold, given away etc

I know when pups are in pet shops they are not allowed to be sold until over 6 weeks

Depends on if you want a dog with bite inhibition and good social skills Rebecca, a 6 week old pup has not learnt enough of mum and siblings yet.

The older the better I think

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Peibe you may be right but I've not located anything specific that gives a minimum age for sale of pups.

Any petshop not selling before 6 weeks may be waiting for first vaccs to kick in. They certainly have pups in the shop that are removed from Mum before 6 weeks and the PIAA code of ethics is silent on the subject.

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I'm pretty sure that in petshops puppys and kitten must be over 8 weeks of age. I think most responsible breeders would also abide by that rule. Very small breeds such as Chi's and Poms should in my opinion, stay with mum until 19 - 12 weeks.

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we are buying a Labrador puppy who will be 7 weeks old when we pick it up. We already have a Lab who was just under 8 weeks when we got him. Will that be ok?

I gather you aren't buying from a registered breeder? I'd call 7 weeks less than ideal. The primary lesson pups learn from each other is bite inhibition. s you have no doubt already learned, gundogs can be very mouthy and bite inhibition not learned on siblings will have to be taught by you.

Have the parents of your pup been hip scored?

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we are buying a Labrador puppy who will be 7 weeks old when we pick it up. We already have a Lab who was just under 8 weeks when we got him. Will that be ok?

I gather you aren't buying from a registered breeder? I'd call 7 weeks less than ideal. The primary lesson pups learn from each other is bite inhibition. s you have no doubt already learned, gundogs can be very mouthy and bite inhibition not learned on siblings will have to be taught by you.

Have the parents of your pup been hip scored?

With our first puppy, Kobe... when he was about 9-11 weeks he became quite "snappy" and was biting at everything. He grew out of it/we taught him it wasn't ok and it's now a non-issue.

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These websites might help:

http://www.petcaretips.net/stages-puppy-development.html

http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs...development.pdf

If you Google "canine development" you'll hit many more. The 8 week age has been settled on in the Code of Ethics for all registered breeders because it strikes the balance between the ideal age to rehome and when the pup has developed some immunity to contagious diseases via vaccination.

If your pup is available at 7 weeks, your breeder is either not registered, or not adhering to the Code of Ethics required of registered breeders.

Are its parents hipscored?

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If your pup is available at 7 weeks, your breeder is either not registered, or not adhering to the Code of Ethics required of registered breeders.

Are its parents hipscored?

Yes, this would be what I would be most concerned about.

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Rebecca, apart from the vaccination/health issues, I can give you an example of why it is best that pups leave no earlier than 8 wks of age. \I currently have a litter of 8 week old pups ready to go to new homes. At 6 weeks they were quiet, sweet little pups, some a little timid. Now, 2 weeks later the difference in their confidence is huge. They are all more confident and outgoing. Bold and happy to meet everyone. One smaller pup was quite the bully at 6 weeks, where now she has been put in her place by the other pups and is a much nicer puppy because of it. I can see why breeders with fewer ethics would like to ditch their pups earlier - they are certainly much more demanding on my time now, than they were 2 weeks ago, but for the puppies sake the extra couple of weeks has made a world of difference to their personalities and to the life lessons they are learning. They will be much better dogs for the sake of 2 extra weeks. If this person is a registered breeder they are doing the wrong thing and should be reported.

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Due to the amount of hip dysplasia in Labradors I would only be buying a Lab from a Registered Breeder who could show me parents, grandparents etc with good sound hips

It will not even cost you much more to buy a Lab from a Registered Breeder

Please do not by from someone who breeds their dogs for fun and money, they are comtributing to the large number of Labradors in pounds everyday

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I think the 6 weeks bit comes because the puppy is not physically dependent on "Mum" any more, ie a pup that age will be weaned and eating solid food etc.

HOWEVER..... the next 2 weeks are very important so the pup can learn ( more exactly, get re-inforced ) proper social behavior from the adult dogs around and it's brothers and sisters.

We NEVER sell a pup at 6 weeks, minimum is 8 weeks, Pam would prefer 12 weeks....but by then they eat SSOOOO much.......

We have sold at 12 weeks if the new owner cannot take pup for one reason or another.....and they have all settled OK.

In fact we bought our last pup at 12 weeks because the friend we bought from could not decide which of 2 bitches she wanted to keep.

The girl we got settled in very quickly.

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